Something to Live For
by TaikoHawk
Summary: OPTIONAL sequel for The Philosophy of Self. For those who wished a certain two characters to have a little romance. No smut, no citrus.


_TH: Okay, so as some of you know, I am a Sakura/Itachi fan. You may also have noticed that my fics skirt the edge of romance, some of them toeing the line, others pacing parallel to it. None really cross over. This is because I suck at writing romance. Generally, my romance falls into one of two categories: it's either sarcastic or it's so awful I cull it before it breathes. But I feel bad because I always WANT Itachi and Sakura to get together and find some little bit of happiness together in my fics. So. This is an attempt.  
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_This can be taken as a **SEQUEL **to **THE PHILOSOPHY OF SELF**. If you don't like the Sakura Itachi pairing, you can just let sleeping dogs lie, and leave off reading this. For you, tPoS can end at chapter 20. If you haven't read tPoS, then you might be very confused. Very.  
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_Also, in case you're curious. I thought about it, and I decided that the technology and everything in the canon Naruto verse is at such a level that it made more sense in my head that they'd use herbal medicines, or medicine extracted from plants, rather than the synthetically produced meds we in the real world have. Hey, soldier pills are the only 'medicine' I can remember them actually using, and they're herbal. Thus, kavalactones which are derived from the kava plant and have sedative and anesthetic properties. Important things for injured ninja. Valerian (another plant) does the same sort of thing, but it seemed to me that kavalactones have a stronger effect (from my cursory internet research).  
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_Remember, IF YOU DON'T LIKE ITACHI/SAKURA DON'T READ.  
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_If you do, please remember to review! I'd greatly appreciate it.  
_

* * *

**Something to Live For**

* * *

"…We're down to less than a dozen units of 200mg kavalactones, and the shipment of new kava roots from Rain has been held up by the floods they're dealing with right now," Sakura said, finishing up her report on the state of the hospital. Tsunade tapped her fingers on her desk.

"I see," the Hokage said, thinking briefly. "How are our stores of valerian?"

"Nearly fully stocked."

"Reduce your use of the kavalactones and substitute in the valerian, at your discretion; I'll send a missive to our traders in Wave and see if we can't work out a temporary deal until the situation in Rain clears up. The quality of their kava is the same, but their climate isn't quite as ideal for its growth, so they'll be more expensive…"

"Right," Sakura replied, making a note on her clipboard. "With the valerian, I think I can make our kavalactones stretch for about a week longer… barring any emergencies."

Tsunade nodded. "Good. Is that all for your report?"

"Yes, shishou."

"Alright. Thank you, Sakura. Oh, and if you start running out of beds in Ward Four again, you can put the overflow in Ward Six—incidents of infectious diseases are down this time of year."

"Understood."

"Then you're dismissed," Tsunade said, giving her apprentice a smile. She'd only given Sakura the task of managing Konoha's hospital two months ago, but so far she seemed pleased with the job Sakura was doing. Which was good, because the only other med-nin that Tsunade would have trusted with the job would have been Shizune, and she'd already given Shizune a group of chuunin to train up as field medics.

Sakura saluted, smiling back, and turned to go. Tsunade's voice stopped her just at the door. "Oh, Sakura. I've just remembered I need to speak with Sasuke. Will you find him for me?"

Facing away from the Hokage, her expression hidden, Sakura grimaced. With false good cheer, she replied: "Of course, shishou. I'll find him right away."

Tromping down the stairs to the ground floor of the Tower, Sakura scowled fiercely to herself. _:And I was doing so well, too.:_

She came out of the Tower and squinted against the bright sunshine of the beautiful early summer day. Lifting a hand to shade her eyes, she sighed. If she didn't know better, she'd say that Tsunade had done that deliberately, but… Well, why would she? As far as the Hokage knew, there was nothing unusual about Sakura's interactions with Sasuke. No reason to manufacture meetings between them. And anyway, that wasn't Tsunade's style.

Sakura dragged the hand shading her eyes through her hair, and then squinted again, looking down the road that led to the hospital. She brightened, her whole bearing perking up. _:Aaah, lucky!:_

"Oi! Ino!" Waving her hand over her head energetically, she called a greeting and ran to join the blonde. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

Ino thrust out a hip and propped her fist on it, cocking one eyebrow. "Alright, Forehead. What do you want?"

Sakura pouted dramatically at Ino, affecting injury. "Want? What makes you think I want something? Why can't I just be glad to see my best friend?"

Her indignation was deliberately obviously fake; Sakura wasn't lying, she was being silly. Ino rolled her eyes at the act, but there was a smile hovering at the corners of her lips. "Anytime anyone greets you with 'just the person I wanted to see,' it's because they're about to ask you to do something."

Sakura dropped the pout and shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. I was going to ask you a favor."

She clapped her hands together in front of her and bowed her head in supplication. "Please, Ino? I'll owe you, big time!"

Ino sniffed: "Oh yes you will. Anything I want, and I'll collect my favor anytime I want. Deal?"

"You drive a hard bargain," Sakura said in mock solemnity. "Very well, I accept."

"Alright!" Ino said, the stern expression on her face fading into a smile. "What was your favor?"

"Will you bring a message to Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "It's from the Hokage."

"Well, sure," Ino said, a little perplexed. It seemed like a small thing to owe Ino a big favor for. "But why can't you?"

"I just got out of a meeting with Tsunade about the state of the hospital; I need to go take care of some other things. But she asked me to tell Sasuke she needs to talk to him." She shrugged. "I want to take care of the hospital matters first, but I also don't want to keep Tsunade waiting."

Ino was watching Sakura with a faint line between her brows, and Sakura tried to keep her expression schooled. It wouldn't do for Ino to figure out what she was up to.

"Fine," Ino shrugged after a moment. "I can find him."

Sakura let out a mental sigh of relief. "Thanks, Ino."

"Yeah, yeah," Ino flapped a hand. "I'll make you pay for it later."

* * *

Sakura had just finished her cooldown stretches when the rest of Team Seven appeared at the edge of Training Ground Fourteen. Naruto spotted her and immediately bounced over.

"Sakura-chan!"

She spared a smile for him. "Hi Naruto. Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke-san."

Her eyes flicked to their fourth member and away so quickly that she didn't register anything about his appearance other than color. Which was just as well, because any time she looked at his face closely enough to notice details, her stomach twisted like it wanted to escape through her belly button.

Instead, she fixed her gaze on Naruto's bright, earnest face. "I've just finished up, so if you want to use the grounds, they're all yours."

Naruto pouted. "You're not training with us?"

"No," Sakura replied, forcing regret into her tone. _:Not if I can avoid it.:_

"This sucks," Naruto proclaimed, frowning. "You can't take missions with us, and you can't even train with us. How long are you going to have to work at the hospital?"

They knew that she was filling in the position of Chief of Medicine while Shizune was busy, a posting which had taken her off Team Seven for its duration. Managing the hospital was a full-time job; she already had to wake before the sun rose to get in any training. There was no way she could fit in team sessions, not unless they were willing to wake up at an unholy hour with her. Which, considering it was Naruto and Kakashi, was laughable. Kakashi was late to everything, as long as it wasn't life threatening, and Naruto was a teenage boy. _:Sasuke, however…: _Sakura cut off that thought before it could develop barbs. She was very aware of their black-haired Teammate watching them silently.

"As long as Shizune is teaching," Sakura answered Naruto presently with a little bit of a shrug. "Sorry, Naruto."

Actually, she couldn't be more thankful that she had such a good excuse for not spending time with them. Things had gotten to the point where it was physically painful for her to interact with… him… in a casual manner.

"We understand," Kakashi spoke, giving Sakura an eye-creasing smile. "Our little Sakura is all grown up and doing important things!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks, sensei."

She bent to pick up the few pieces of equipment she'd brought with her—some weights and targets—and slung them over her shoulder. "I need to go now, if I want to shower before I have to be at the hospital. Have fun training!"

She waved vaguely at them and took off. She ignored the feeling of Sasuke's eyes on her.

She actually headed straight to the hospital; there were showers there, and she had a few changes of clothes in her locker. While she stood under the hot spray, the water pummeling her pleasantly sore muscles, she considered her course of action.

_:He suspects something's up, of that I am sure,: _she thought with a sigh. _:He's far too perceptive, and my methods haven't really been subtle. I… haven't been collected enough to be subtle.:_

There would be a confrontation, she knew, sometime. The prospect tied knots in her innards.

* * *

Itachi sat in his apartment, his kunai and his tanto arrayed around him, with his maintenance kit directly in front. He finished oiling the kunai in his hand, laid it down on the cloth to his left, and picked up another. He frowned at he inspected the edge.

He'd had suspicions before, and today just made them stronger. His eyes narrowed. _:She's avoiding me.:_

He thought he could guess why, generally if not specifically. It was because she'd been Genin Teammates with Sasuke. And he'd stolen Sasuke life.

It was more complicated than that, but that was essentially the matter, boiled down.

Sasuke had killed him, believing him to be a cruel, twisted murderer. Madara—conniving exile of both the Uchiha Clan and Konohagakure no Sato—had corrected this belief, telling Sasuke the truth of the matter in the hope that it would fill Sasuke with a burning hatred for Konoha. It did the exact opposite. All the fight had gone out of Sasuke. In fact, he lost even the will to live. Sasuke had used a Forbidden Jutsu to resurrect Itachi, at the price of his own life. Sasuke's soul had gone to Death, and Itachi's soul had awakened in Sasuke's body.

Touka Koukan no Jutsu. Equivalent Exchange. Sasuke had traded places with his dead brother in a last attempt to do something right, and good.

Itachi still grappled with the idea that it had been something 'right and good'. Once upon a time, Sakura had assured him that the action had healed Sasuke, and that given time it could heal Itachi, too.

He wondered if she still felt that way…

When he'd first come back, disoriented by his sojourn in death he hadn't quite remembered who he was. Added to that the confusion caused by the fact that the jutsu had cast his soul into the empty vessel of Sasuke's body…

Team Seven had found him sick and staggering in the forest, and brought him back to Konoha with the belief that he **was **Sasuke. They'd believed he had amnesia. Most of Konoha still thought so, or at least thought he had lingering memory problems. He had to admit that it was a handy excuse when he didn't know something that Sasuke should have.

Because there was no way Uchiha Itachi could return to Konoha. Even if the whole Village were told the truth about the Massacre and his actions. There was too much animosity toward him and his actions that there could never be a complete reconciliation. Nevermind trying to explain how he was alive after being dead, and in possession of Sasuke's body.

But it wasn't just that which had lead to Itachi taking on Sasuke's name. Since Sasuke had died for him, he would live for Sasuke. He would heal the broken bonds Sasuke had left, would redeem Sasuke's name. The name of Uchiha Sasuke would be written down in history as a hero of Konoha.

It was the only thing left for Itachi to do for his little brother.

He had explained all of this to Team Seven when they'd expressed surprise and confusion over the choice. They had claimed to understand, but…

_:Kakashi-senpai understood,: _Itachi thought. _:But Naruto was still somewhat confused. And Sakura… she might understand, but I don't think she likes it.:_

Itachi bent his head over the kunai in his hand, still steadily running the whetstone over the blade in smooth even strokes.

Sakura had loved Sasuke, the real Sasuke, when they were younger. It made sense that this situation would make her uncomfortable. Perhaps she resented him for it.

But she had been the one to see that he was about to use Touka Koukan himself, to bring Sasuke back. She'd stopped him. She'd persuaded him that it wasn't a path that would work. She'd persuaded him to live.

She'd said she cared about him—Itachi. Was that only for the sake of Sasuke, who'd cared enough to die to give him a second chance? Did she care only in Sasuke's memory?

Itachi tested the edge on his thumb, and watched as a bright red bead of blood oozed up.

It had been nearly a year since they had become a Team. Nearly a year since she had stopped him from using the Touka Koukan. That was a long time to pretend to friendship. Surely she must truly care…

But perhaps that was just wishful thinking on his part.

After her performance in the fight against Madara, he had respected her strength. After her speech on Sasuke's intentions, and his own, he admired her perceptiveness. After being her Teammate for a while, he admired her tenacity, and being her patient a couple of times had increased his respect for her abilities.

It was only after she started to distance herself from him that he realized…

Itachi lowered the kunai and oiling rag and closed his eyes.

_:Fool that I am.:_

* * *

Ino cornered Sakura a week after the blonde had done her friend the favor of passing Tsunade's message on to Sasuke. It had taken her longer than she'd have liked to catch Sakura at a time when she would have more than a few seconds to talk—let it never be said that Sakura wasn't diligent in her tasks as Chief of Medicine. It seemed like every time Ino had wanted to chat with her friend, Sakura was hurrying off on some errand or other.

But today when the Yamanaka knocked on Sakura's apartment door, there was a muffled shout from behind it and the sound of shuffling, before Sakura appeared. "Ino?"

"Lemme in," Ino demanded, pressing forward as soon as the bewildered Sakura opened the door wide enough. After kicking her shoes off impatiently in the entrance, Ino stalked in and sat herself deliberately in the middle of the couch. She waited until Sakura had joined her before speaking. "Alright, spill."

"What?" Sakura looked confused. Ino twirled one hand in the air.

"Why are you avoiding Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura sputtered. "I… wha… I am not!"

"Right," Ino drawled, clear unconvinced. "We've known each other a long time, Forehead. And you're not exactly the best liar. I know what you were really trying to do when you got me to play errand girl for you the other day."

A flush was creeping up Sakura's face. "I had to run to the hospital, and I couldn't do that and deliver Tsunade-shishou's message at the same time, and I am perfectly capable of telling a good lie!"

"Maybe so, but that wasn't one of them," Ino rolled her eyes. "The Hokage knew what she'd told you to do. She would have understood if one or the other of those tasks had taken a little longer. You just didn't want to have to talk to Sasuke-kun. Why?"

"Tha-that's…"

The beginning of a frown started on Ino's face. "Did he hurt you again?"

"I… no." Sakura deflated, the rigid indignation in her voice fading to weariness. "No. I was hurting myself."

Ino looked at her sadly. "Oh, Sakura. You've fallen for him again, haven't you?"

Sakura hesitated, but she knew it was useless to lie to Ino. She capitulated, and whispered. "Yes."

Ino surveyed her friend for a long moment, while Sakura cast her gaze downward and sat limply in place. Ino thought she looked… defeated. It wasn't a good look on her. "Come on, Forehead. Cheer up. Hey, you and Naruto brought Sasuke home and he stayed. That's a step in the right direction. And he isn't as stand-offish as he was when we were younger."

Sakura twitched at this, and Ino hurried to continue: "I mean, he always seemed like he was ignoring everyone around him back then. Now, he's still just as quiet, but you can tell he's listening all the same."

"So, what, you think…?" Sakura started.

"Sakura, you're pretty," Ino interrupted frankly. "You're strong, you're loyal. It would be difficult not to love you."

The pink-haired girl stirred uneasily. "What happened to you not ever losing Sasuke-kun to me?"

It was a weak attempt, trying to use their old rivalry to decrease the solemnity of the moment. Ino ignored it. She continued to stare Sakura in the face directly.

"He's… so different now," Sakura hedged.

"Yes." Ino agreed bluntly. "If you ask me, the amnesia improved his personality. He's not as much of a jerk now."

"Ino!" Sakura snapped, looking angry. Ino shrugged.

"Look back on your memories. Sasuke was always dismissing everyone around him, especially if they were weaker than he was. I don't know if it was the selfishness of a child that was behind it, or the arrogance of the Last Uchiha." She caught Sakura's eyes. "How many times has he dismissed you since he came back?"

Sakura hesitated again. "Well, never. He actually—" She clamped her mouth shut, blushing.

Ino laughed, surprised and delighted. "Oh, so he's noticing you, is he? That's good! This is better than I thought!"

"Shut up," Sakura muttered. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?" Ino asked smugly.

"It's just… he's a good Teammate," Sakura replied, staring at her hands. That struck Ino, and the blonde calmed somewhat before she asked, gently:

"Then why are you hiding from him?"

Sakura closed her eyes. "Because I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

Sakura shrugged. Ino waited, but it became apparent that she wasn't going to answer.

"I'm not going to push you to tell him," Ino said. "But I will say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. You're unhappy right now, Sakura."

"I know," Sakura murmured.

"Just… think about it, alright?" Ino asked. "Defeat isn't a good look for you."

"Thanks, Ino," Sakura said, and looked up to meet blue eyes. "You're a good friend."

* * *

Itachi began careful experiments in needling Sakura. He appeared at the hospital to get the small injuries accumulated from training healed, though usually he'd take care of them himself. More often that not, Sakura would pawn him off on some other medic. Only once or twice did she take care of him herself, and when she did, it was perfunctory, though perfectly polite.

Some careful suggestions led Naruto into inviting all of Team Seven to ramen dinners at Ichiraku, but Sakura always pled off, being too busy or too tired or having just ate.

It was absolutely definitive. She was avoiding him deliberately and consistently.

Itachi set one final test; if the trend continued even after she returned to Team Seven after her work at the hospital, then he would confront her. The bonds he had managed to forge were not so numerous that he would simply let one fade, especially not one that was so integral.

Sakura did return after one month, and Team Seven was sent on a C-class mission. Unlike other missions that they'd taken together before, this time she seemed hell-bent on interacting with him as little as humanly possible. She was never rude to him, but then, it would have been rather difficult to be rude when she didn't speak more than five words to him at a time. And as soon as they'd reached the gates and signed back in, she'd splintered from the group, called over her shoulder: "I'll report to Tsunade-shishou! You guys can take it easy!"

"Thanks Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered back, enthusiastic. She waved vaguely before vanishing over a rooftop. Naruto slapped his hands together gleefully. "Great! I'm starving! I'm going to Ichiraku's."

To his credit, he paused halfway through his lunge forward, and glanced back at Kakashi and Sasuke. "Y'wanna come with?"

Kakashi's eye creased. "Not this time, Naruto. Sorry."

Naruto's head swung around to Sasuke. He shook his head. "No, thank you, Naruto. I have something to take care of."

Naruto shrugged. "Alright, if you guys are sure."

They both nodded silently, and Naruto shrugged again, then brightened. "Maybe if I find Iruka-sensei, I can get him to pay for me!"

The blond Jinchuuriki was gone in a flash, racing away toward the promise of ramen. The two remaining members of Team Seven glanced at each other, exchanged cordial, silent farewells, and parted company.

Itachi made his way to Sakura's apartment complex, and took up residence in a tree across the street, hiding all sign of his presence. After a short wait, Sakura herself appeared, striding down the street briskly. She leapt with easy grace up the stairs, reached her door, unlocked it and went it. Itachi followed, stopping at her threshold and knocking firmly. It was time to deal with this problem. She wasn't going to avoid him this time.

* * *

Sakura wasn't expecting to be interrupted that night, particularly not so soon in the night. When she opened her front door and saw Sasuke on the other side of it, her first thought was _:Oh no.: _followed by _:Did he stake out my apartment?:_

He must have, because she hadn't even had time to take her shoes off. Fighting the quiver that had started in her stomach, she inquired politely: "Do you need something, Sasuke-san?"

"Can we speak?"

Silently, Sakura stood aside and Sasuke stepped into her home. They both took off their shoes and stepped up onto the smooth wood floor of her narrow entry hall. "Can I offer you tea?" she asked, daring to hope he'd say no, that it was only a short word he'd wanted.

"Yes, thank you," he said instead. She swallowed thickly and led him into her living room. Gesturing at the couch, she said:

"Please make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." She contemplated boiling the tea water the traditional way, but the anticipation of the confrontation was already shredding her nerves and she didn't think stalling would make it any better in the end. She used a small Katon to set the kettle shrilling, then poured the steaming water over the leaves in her teapot infuser.

Sasuke was seated in one of the cushy armchairs that flanked the couch when she returned with the teapot and cups. She poured two cups in silence, under his steady gaze. She took the seat directly across from him, the corner of the couch, and stared into her teacup. It was too hot for her taste, so she just twisted the cup around in her hands, watching the steam rise.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence with a proverbial kunai thrust straight toward the heart of the matter.

"I haven't been avoiding you," Sakura lied automatically. His eyes narrowed.

"What would you call it, then?"

"I… I've been busy." Her voice was firm, but she couldn't stop the slight tremor at the start. She knew he heard it, too, and despaired.

"Do you care about Team Seven?" he demanded. She looked up at that, blinking in confusion.

"Of course I do," she said.

"Liar," he said. Shock, then anger flashed through Sakura.

"How dare—"

"If you truly cared," Sasuke interrupted, "you wouldn't be acting so foolish."

"Foolish?" she hissed.

"I am your Teammate. I am on Team Seven. By avoiding me, you are avoiding the Team!"

She didn't have anything to say to that, but she contented herself with glaring.

"Whatever animosity you bear me now," Sasuke said, glaring back, "if it is going to threaten the integrity of the Team, tell me now. If you are so intent on escaping me, I'll ask for a reassignment."

Sakura's jaw clenched and she looked away, because she knew that if she said yes, it would hurt the others too. And he didn't deserve to be abandoned—or driven away—by her inability to handle her own emotions.

"No?" Sasuke's grim voice continued. "Then what do you want, Sakura-san?"

"I want you to leave me alone!" she snapped. He watched her snarl with eyes so ferociously narrowed she was surprised he hadn't activated his Sharingan.

"Did you mean any of what you said that day?" he asked. There was no need for him to elaborate, she knew immediately what day he meant, even if it had been over a year ago. The memory was still strong in her head. She flinched back.

"Yes," she finally said, stiffly. "I meant it."

"Then, it was my taking the name that changed this."

"No, that's not it," Sakura gritted.

"Then why?" he snapped back. "Why do you hate me now?"

"I don't hate you!" she shouted. "You **confuse** me!"

He sat back. "Because you loved Sasuke."

"Yes." Back as rigid as a plank of ironwood, Sakura wished as hard as she could that he'd just take his questions and go.

"And I am not Sasuke."

"No, you're not," she whispered. "You're not, but when I look at you I see him, and I see you, and I don't know which one I—"

She stopped abruptly, and stood, stalking away from the cluster of seats around the coffee table. But Sasuke wasn't about to let the hunt end there. His voice froze Sakura in place.

"Which one you what, Sakura-san?"

She considered just leaving, but Ino's voice was a remembered echo in her mind, and she could almost believe that the softness in his voice was hope. She also thought briefly of lying, but she had never been able to persuade him of her lies.

Sakura's eyes closed in defeat, but her body remained stiff and tense. "I **love **you," she said helplessly. "But… but when I look at you…"

She trailed off, and tried to escape into the kitchen, but he was suddenly there, in front of her, and his hands were curled around her biceps. She looked up, slowly, reluctant, and he met her gaze with his, giving her enough time to protest before he pressed his mouth to hers.

Sakura felt a shiver raise goosebumps on her skin, and his hands tightened minutely on her. Her tongue darted out without her volition to sweep across his lower lip, and the kiss broke as they both gasped.

In a rush, sanity and coherence returned, and Sakura wrenched herself away, mad at herself and confused. "What was that for?" she demanded, voice uneven. "Pity, or curiosity?"

"Neither," he said. His hands dropped back to his sides and he watched her without moving from where he stood. "Neither. Sakura…"

"You can't possibly be saying that you…" she choked herself off. His brow furrowed, but he didn't say anything, he only gazed steadily at her. She looked away.

"You had my admiration nearly from the start," he told her.

"Admiration is not love," she said.

"No," he said, sounding impatient. "But it can easily grow to it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she told him, raking her fingers through her hair and avoiding looking at him.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept it?" he asked "Is it because of who I am? Who I was?"

She was shaking her head before he'd even finished. "No. No, I know the truth; you told me yourself, and I believe you. You are no traitor, no murderer. Uchiha Itachi is tragic, not abhorrent."

"Then **explain **it to me," he said. "Tell me why our friendship has deteriorated this far."

She was pale and miserable at this sad—and yet true—description of the situation. She'd never wanted to ruin their friendship; her bonds with her Teammates were something she held in highest regard, and cherished deeply. But she'd been running away from him and from her feelings so blinded by panic and fear that she hadn't really considered what it would do to their relationship.

And she had promised that she and the rest of Team Seven would give him a reason to live, to take the second chance Sasuke had offered him and live it well.

_:How much more can you ruin this?: _she asked herself bleakly.

"You confuse me," she said. "And I didn't know what else to do, so I just ran. And for that, I'm sorry."

She paused, took a deep breath, "My love for Sasuke was largely superficial. I thought he was cute, and he was something of a celebrity in the Academy, because of his abilities. I was just another vapid girl, swooning over an image instead of a person."

"Stop," Itachi said grimly. "You're going to try to claim that this is your fear? That you think your feelings are in this same vein, simply because I wear Sasuke's face? No. I do not believe it. And neither do you. You're only trying to persuade yourself not to examine your feelings more closely."

Sakura's mouth dropped open slightly. _:What…?:_

"And," Itachi said, stepping forward deliberately, "do not claim that you are afraid of repudiation. I have evinced what my answer would be."

Sakura's mouth shut and her cheeks flamed red, remembering the kiss they'd shared only minutes ago.

"So, then," he continued. "Is it because of guilt?"

"Guilt?" she echoed.

"You loved Sasuke, but even that couldn't save him. You couldn't save him with love or friendship, despite the promise you made with Naruto. So you feel you don't deserve this, especially not with the person responsible for his death."

"You aren't responsible!" she protested immediately, looking into his face. At his steady gaze, her boldness wilted a little. She looked away. "I…"

His fingertips touched her cheek, and she startled, but let him turn her head toward him again. She gave her answer to his face: "I may feel some guilt. For failing him. I am reminded of that every time I look at you and see him. But… but I also feel some guilt because…"

She flushed with shame. "You are nicer to me than he ever was. There is no bitterness, no dismissal in the way you treat those around you. You are strong, and loyal, and kind. Some of my guilt is because I feel more strongly for you than I ever did for him."

Itachi was silent a moment. "You feel this is a betrayal of his memory."

She nodded wordlessly.

"One year, four months and twelve days ago, you persuaded me that I should live this life as well as I could, in recognition of my brother, who loved me so well he traded our souls." Itachi said. "It seems now it falls to me to persuade you to live your life for the living, not the dead.

"You said you were at peace with Sasuke's death. You said you believed it to have healed him; that it was the only thing that could have. Why, then, this regret?"

"For so long, Naruto and Kakashi and I were beside Sasuke. We never gave up on him, we always tried to get him back. This feels like… abandoning him. I don't want to, not even now. I don't want to forget him," Sakura felt the words spill from her lips unchecked. It seemed she was beyond avoiding him; he'd cracked open her guard and now everything was falling into the light.

"No," Itachi said plainly, fingers circling her upper arm in a demanding grip. She locked eyes with him. "You won't forget him. You can't. I wouldn't let you."

"Because you don't want to, either," she said, almost voicelessly.

"Yes." His eyes searched her face. "There is no betrayal in this."

"You might have to remind me, sometimes," she whispered. His grip on her tightened.

"Are you going to stop running?"

She let out a breath that was only slightly shaky, and admitted: "I only ran because nothing else helped."

"Then, are you willing to try to make this work?"

"Is this what **you **want?" She almost didn't dare hope.

His hand drifted up, palm gently brushing her shoulder. "Yes," he said simply. There was a long moment of silence as they both stared into each other's faces, both broken and healing and searching.

"W-will you…? This once?" she said finally, uncertainly, hand lifting to hover near his cheek.

He knew her well enough, and could read the situation well enough, to know what she meant by her half-asked question. With a constrained puff of displaced air, he placed a henge of his own self's image over the features of Sasuke's.

Sakura fixed her eyes on him, and slowly, hesitantly, traced the slope of his nose, the curve of his cheek, and the pronounced tear toughs under his eyes.

Then, gently, she smiled.


End file.
